


Two Kinds of Insomnia

by theartofdreaming



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-08 00:17:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7735507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theartofdreaming/pseuds/theartofdreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two instances when Iris couldn't get any sleep. Both times Barry is to blame.<br/>Based on this poem:</p>
<p>"When I'm with you, we stay up all night.<br/>When you're not here, I can't fall asleep.</p>
<p>Praise God for these two insomnias!<br/>And the difference between them."<br/>-Rumi</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Kinds of Insomnia

**Author's Note:**

> I read this poem and couldn't help but think of Barry and Iris :)

Iris was passing the desks of her colleagues at CCPN for the fourth time to get herself a coffee refill. Most of her fellow journalists didn’t even bother to look up anymore (by now, Iris’s caffeine addiction had been widely known), only the new intern stared at Iris disbelievingly and of course Carolyn from the health and medicine section couldn’t refrain from clicking her tongue in a disapproving manner, while demonstratively sipping herbal tea from her own mug. Iris couldn’t care less. She was sleep-deprived and needed some fuel to get her article done and the next caffeine fix should just last long enough for her to finish it. Also, Iris’s excessive consumption of coffee today was mostly to blame on Barry anyhow. His “other” job had been really busy as of late, which not only meant that Iris’s fiancé had less time to spend with her, but also forced Iris as CCPN’s Flash-expert to put in more hours at work to cover the heroics dealt out by Central City’s very own superhero… Bottom line: both Barry and Iris felt like there simply weren’t enough hours in the day for them to enjoy their togetherness. So if daytime wasn’t providing the necessary hours, nighttime had to do. Not that the two of them talking through most of the night was anything new (since always, they had spent a lot of nights talking about anything and everything; first during their teenage years, on the couch at the West’s home while Barry had been living with Iris and her dad, then on their separate beds via phone and Skype when they had attended different colleges), but the amount of sleepless hours was piling up and if Iris wasn’t going to catch some Zzs any time soon, she might actually fall asleep standing up.

An hour later, Iris left work early after handing in her finished article, more than ready to take a long nap – only to find Barry sprawled on their bed in the bedroom, lightly snoring.  A fond smile stole across her lips. Kicking off her shoes, Iris climbed into bed, nestling up against Barry’s side. She immediately fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

 

_**When I’m with you, we stay up all night.** _

_**When you’re not here, I can’t go to sleep.** _

 

Another yawn escaped Iris’s lips while she was waiting in line at Jitters to grab her usual (a café americano) before heading over to CCPN to write her newest piece about homeless veterans. She had spent many days doing research and conducting interviews, which was already exhausting on its own, but the fact that Iris hadn’t been able to sleep for the past two days had the journalist feeling more worn out than ever. Thing was, Barry was currently away on a League mission – a crazy and dangerous one, as far as Iris could tell (something about saving a guy named like a Midsummer Night’s Dream character from the clutches of some evil Granny on a far away planet with the ominous name of Apokolips; the details Barry had given her before departing had been too bizarre to even question) – and she simply couldn’t go to sleep without Barry by her side. She had tried everything: Valerian tea, calming music, no electronic devices an hour before going to bed, no coffee after 5 p.m. (which had been by far the most difficult one to implement), breathing exercises – nothing would work. Her mind would just drift to the person who was supposed to occupy the empty space right next to her in bed and who was instead on another planet, in another solar system, risking his life to save another. Hugging his pillow to her chest, burying her nose in it, soaking up the familiar and comforting scent that was just _Barry_ had helped easing Iris into a doze after hours of tossing and turning, but it wasn’t enough for a real, satisfying sleep – she was missing his warmth, the quick but steady beating of his heart underneath her fingers, the way he would nuzzle his face into her hair while mumbling unintelligible words under his breath… The barista’s cheerful “Hi, what can I get you?” startled Iris out of her thoughts, back into reality. After getting her much-needed coffee-fix, Iris went back to work.

* * *

It was 2 a.m. and Iris was still lying awake, unable to sleep. The journalist had finished her article successfully and her editor had been thoroughly impressed and happy with her piece, saving Iris the trouble of having to revise it multiple times or having to argue about certain passages. She was dead tired, but her mind was racing, thinking and worrying about Barry.

Iris was just considering switching the light back on to distract herself by reading a little, when the familiar sound of crackling electricity and welcome gust of wind made that contemplation redundant.

“Hey,” Iris whispered happily, getting a good look at Barry’s smiling face before she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. She could hear Barry carelessly tossing the suit on the floor (he’d probably get an earful from Cisco later for that) before he crawled into bed, to his spot right next to her, kissing her forehead tenderly.

“Hey,” he whispered back, planting another chaste kiss on Iris’s nose, “sorry it took me so long. The mission was positively crazy.” He brushed a strand of hair out of Iris’s face, while Iris relished the gentle caress of his fingers, wrapping her arms tighter around Barry’s middle, “I missed you so much.”

Iris barely managed to hum a response, the soothing and familiar tha-thump of Barry’s heartbeat already lulling her to sleep. Of course, Iris wanted to know all about his adventure across the cosmos, but she also knew that there were plenty more nights ahead of them they could talk right through – for now, all that mattered was that Barry was here, safe and sound, in her arms.

 

_**Praise God for these two insomnias!** _

_**And the difference between them.** _

**Fin**.

**Author's Note:**

> The Justice League mission mentioned in this story is actually an episode from the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, 2x02 "The Ties That Bind" (Flash - Wally in that version - goes to Apokolips with Mister Miracle and Big Barda to help save Oberon from Granny Goodness)... It's a great episode ^^


End file.
